Urban Air Quality: the Challenge of Non-exhaust Road Transport Emissions

Outdoor air pollution results from emissions from road transport, industry, heating and commercial sources. About 100 000 premature adult deaths attributable to air pollution occur each year in the European Region. Road transport emissions from road traffic account for a significant share of this burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that reducing levels of particulate matter (PM) could decrease mortality in polluted cities by as much as 15% every year.

While important technological improvements have been made for reducing PM emissions from motor exhausts, no actions are currently taken to reduce the non-exhaust part of emissions such as brake wear, road wear, tire wear and road dust resuspension. These non-exhaust sources contribute as much as the tailpipe exhaust to the PM concentrations in cities, and their burden is destined to increase in the future.

The aim of thesedebates, coorganized by B·Debate and IDAEA-CSIC, is to define the current knowledge and gaps on non-exhaust emissions from road transport. The strategic goal is to provide guidance to drive future research towards an improved understanding on the relationship between emissions, concentrations, exposure and health impact and on the effectiveness of potential remediation measures in the urban environment.